Most coin operated amusement or arcade-type games of the ball rolling type such as pinball machines, include a number of electrically actuated devices such as solenoid actuated kickers and thumper bumpers as well as a large number of lights. In the more modern machines these devices are typically under the control of a microprocessor. In addition, coin operated games of this, type usually include a large number of ball activated switches which provide information to the microprocessor as to the location of the ball for scoring purposes as well as the activation of various lights and other electrically actuated devices.
It has been the practice in previous machines to individually wire each one of these devices, or in some cases to use a matrix-type wiring arrangement. In a typical pinball machine such an approach can require up to eight hundred feet of wiring in seventy different colors. In addition to the cost of the wire itself the manufacturing complexity adds considerably to the cost of producing the machines. Along with the fact that it is usually necessary to separately connect and solder each wire to a particular device, the practice in the coin operated amusement game industry is to change models every few months which in turn requires a redesign of the wiring system plus the cost of teaching manufacturing personnel how to wire the new game.